I’ve been doing, like, a ridiculous amount of reading lately. I want to be the kind of blogger who writes thoughtful reviews of every relevant book that I read, but…well…I find it really daunting to write full-length book reviews. I worry that I’ll either end up just gushing or being super negative. So here, in brief, is what I’ve been reading lately:

The Ex by Abigail Barnette - I never got around to writing about The Girlfriend or The Bride, but I did post about how much I loved The Bossa while back. The Ex is similarly really, really good. This series is the best possible response to the Fifty Shades craze–Neil and Sophie are so charming, and very real. There’s a lot of fantasy wish fulfillment (Neil is still a multi-billionaire), but the story is still told well, and the characters are likeable. The “bad guy” (not that this series really has villains as such, but this guy is pretty terrible) is also creepily well written. I can’t recommend it enough.

The Killer Wore Leather by Laura Antoniou - It’s no secret to anyone who talks to me in person about kink for more than 30 seconds that Laura Antoniou is my favorite author of BDSM erotica. I am a huge nerd for the Marketplace series. Since I also devour murder mysteries like popcorn, I had to read this. And I’m so glad I did. It’s hilarious, especially if you’ve ever been to any large kinky convention (or probably any large, special-interest-specific convention, really). The plot is intensely satisfying, and twisty and exciting. At one point I actually, literally gasped out loud at a plot twist. I am kind of hoping there will be more of these, though I don’t know how many murder mysteries can reasonably be set in the BDSM scene…

The Compleat Spanker by Lady Green - I tend to be a really big fan of short, practical guides like this. I feel like they are often way more useful than the big, comprehensive type books that try to cover every single kinky activity one could possibly do. Though more on that in a minute. This is just a really good, comprehensive guide to impact play. It takes youthroughbothpracticalinformationaboutimplements, technique, anatomy, and first aid as well as the brain and feelings components of a spanking scene. Really, super useful. I wish books like this were more available and recommended more often to beginners.

Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism by Phillip Miller and Molly Devon - This is one of those books that’s been around for a while and gets recommended a lot to folks who are just starting to explore kink. It has a lot of the same issues that most of these books published in the mid to late 90s have, like hilariously dated information about meeting potential partners via the internet. It’s also pretty common for books from this time to use some fairly dated information about gender and gender identity issues–even some of my favorite informational books use language that is pretty cringe-worthy by current standards. Unfortunately, this takes it a little further by including a section about how the majority of “the gender community” aren’t into BDSM. Which, even if it was maybe true in 1995 (which I’m reasonably sure it wasn’t, based on other reading) it’s definitely not remotely true today. In other gender-related issues, because it was written by a male dom/female sub couple, it is written using entirely she/her/hers pronouns to refer tosubmissives and he/him/his pronouns for dominants. Ugh. There’s also a lot of icky genderessentialism presented as advice (women do x,men doy, women have sex like this…etc.) which is pretty uncomfortable. Frustratingly, there’s also a lot of good information. I learned tons about things like enema play and how to use asingletail that Ihaven’t really read in any other book. But mostly, I feel like this book tries to take on way too much, and thegendered language and “fun” writing style end up being really alienating.

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So that’s what I’ve been reading. I’m going to try to make this a regular feature on the blog, and also write about some books I’ve been meaning to post about for a while. I hope this is informative and maybe also entertaining.

So when they asked if I wanted to help them in the shower, even though I’d just taken a bath, like, the night before, I was pretty eager to help. I stripped and hopped into the shower behind them, my hair tied back to keep it from getting too wet.

I shampooed their hair, trying to make it as pleasant and relaxing as possible. Then I pulled on the scrubby gloves and lathered up with the tea tree oil soap they like. (Seriously, those scrubby shower gloves are, like, my favorite thing ever.) I feel like I write a lot about body service type stuff, but without really articulating what it’s like/why I’m so into it. The scrubby gloves in particular really emphasize it for me–it’s super intimate. I love Garnet’s body, which is delicious and curvy, and I love the way their skin feels and smells, and obviously I love touching them. But I especially enjoy doing things like that to give them a feeling of luxury, to make them feel good. To take care of them.

I feel like I’m really terrible at articulating this, but it just pushes all my submissive and service buttons.

I was crouched by their feet, running my soapy gloved hands over their calves and feet when they indicated that I should give their bits some attention with my mouth. I was very happy to do so. I pressed my mouth to them, licking and sucking at them, feeling like I was being such a good girl. They twined their hand in my hair, pressing me closer, while I sucked at their clit and they pushed and ground against my mouth, basically fucking my face. They asked me to finger them, so I pulled off one of the gloves and slipped two fingers inside, pressing against that firm, textured spot inside them. The sound of their breath and the occasional moanabove me encouraged me, and I was getting really into a submissive headspace, moaning and whimpering against them while I licked and sucked at their delicious bits. (At one point I got so into what I was doing with my mouth that I completely forgot to do anything with the fingers inside them, and they smacked me in the arm and admonished me to move my hand, so I was maybe not a very good girl.) After a little while they pulled away.

I started to stand and they pushed me back down to a kneeling position. ”I didn’t say you could get up,” they scolded, and I apologized. After a moment’s pause, they angled their hips a bit and began to piss, the hot liquid pouring over my tits for a second before they grabbed my hair and pushed my face back against their bits. I lapped at them eagerly, drinking everything down until they pushed me away.

I was practically dizzy withheadspacey feelings after that, and it took me a second to respond when they asked if I needed to get under the shower spray to get clean. ”Yes, please,” I said, and they pulled me to my feet and wrapped their arms around me while I stood for a minute until I was rinsed off.

I have always wondered what would happen if I were living alone in a place that gets house centipedes.

Because I have a pretty intense phobia of them, and everywhere I’ve ever lived there’s been someone else to deal with them. But now it is just me and my cat, and a lot of cellar spiders, and the occasional FUCKING GIGANTIC centipede. And, like, as long as I can avoid them, I’m sort of okay? Like, I don’t run out of the room crying, or become paralyzed with fear. I’m kind of like “Oh dear, there’s an unpleasant thing over there.” I still am pretty disturbed by the thought of one touching me.

(Though actually, as I’m writing this, it’s been over a week since I’ve seen one and so I’m less used to them and so I just know I’m going to lose it the next time one appears.)

So…Garnet and I took a class on edgeplay* recently, and there was a whole section about fear. And I like fear…I mean, I wrote a post a while back about a scene where Garnet pretended to slice me open from collar bone to crotch. Fear can be really hot. But until I started encountering huge ones regularly enough to be pretty able to deal with it, my fear of centipedes was always off the table as an element in a scene. But we talked about it…and I agreed that as long as no actual creepy-crawlies were involved, I would be okay with doing some fear stuff/mindfuckery that played with my phobia.

They had me close my eyes, and they swept a little leather tassel over my bare skin, telling me that there were centipedes crawling on me. And I squirmed and whimpered and at one point started panting so hard that they stopped to check in that I was okay (I was, and assured them I’d be able tosafeword if I needed to). It was fun. And then they very convincingly pretended to catch a centipede off the wall and shove it inside me. Which was both terrifying and weirdly hot.

Afterwards, they reassured me that it had all been convincingly faked, and showed me the leather tassel, and we laughed about the whole thing. It was all really safe feeling.

Then they got out the Hitachi, and put a towel under me. I actually made myself squirt with the Hitachi, which is pretty hard for me to do a lot of the time, because the feeling is so intense that I pull away. And then they had me ride the Hitachi until I came, and when I’d shivered my way through a pretty intense orgasm they petted me and hugged me and assured me that I’d done a very good job, and that I was a good girl. It felt really great.

*edgeplay, for those unfamiliar with the term, can be any sort of activity that’s especially intense/plays with taboos/flirts with things that are dangerous or that are limits. Not even necessarily by actually doing the dangerous thing, but often by creating the illusion that it’s happening.

Clearly, I am a 15-year-old onlivejournal using song lyrics for post titles.

But so much has happened!

I mean, obviously the blog has moved. Kinky Blogging is apparently run by some of the folks behind Submissive Guide. And its main attraction for me is that they have zero interest in booting adult content. So I will no longer need to worry about suddenly discovering my blog has vanished because Blogger decided to be an asshole that day. So hooray new blog!

Also, I myself the actual person have moved. I live in the same city as Garnet now! Obviously, this is a good thing for a number of reasons. Including the fact that the place I was living just got named the least affordable place to live in the U.S. New cityis much more manageable in a number of ways, and I get to see Garnet more often! I just need to find a job and I’ll be set…

…I’m also several posts behind where I should be. There has been much sex since I moved. It’s been pretty great. And after taking a break from D/s for a bit (which was probably a good idea considering how stressful things were for everyone for a while there), I’m back on track with tasks and training. Except for the part where I haven’t been blogging. I even have a shiny new FetLife profile…which really seemed like a good idea, but FetLife is just not the resource I want it to be. But I have a new profile regardless.

So blogging about sex!

While Garnet and I were travelling for Thanksgiving, we were relaxing in our swanky hotel room and I offered them oral. I had mentioned earlier that I wanted to have sex when we got back to the room (hotel sex is generally awesome, and I always feel like I should take advantage of hotel rooms by boning in them as much as possible), but I was also sleepy and tipsy. And it had been a while since I’d gone down on Garnet, and of course providing oral as a service while they do something else is super hot. They smiled at my offer and pointed out that there were all sorts of things we could do if I’d rather, but I had made the offer because oral is awesome and they are delicious. They read some comics and I spent a bunch of time licking and sucking at their bits, getting super turned on and enjoying their delicious taste.

Now that I’ve managed to actually move the blog, I’m excited to write more! I also have time to write more, in betweenpanickedjob hunting. So hopefully we’ll be seeing more of each other, readers!

There’s a song in Kiss Me Kate called “Too Darn Hot” that is literally about those times where it’s too hot to have sex. Seriously. That’s what it’s about. I love Cole Porter.

Last week, Garnet and I were in exactly this situation. It was hideously hot, but also we really wanted to have sex. ”I really want to fuck you in the ass,” they said at one point, “but I don’t want to strap on and…move.” They joked about starting a petition for sex to involve less moving. We had hauled an air conditioner up into their bedroom, though, so we figured that would maybe help.

Garnet just moved/is still kind of in the process of moving, so we had limited resources. Fortunately, one of our favorite dildos for buttsex was among them. We turned on the AC, spread a blanket on the floor, and then they ordered me to get undressed. I shed my dress and wriggled out of my bra and undies. I was already so turned on. Garnet slid their fingers into my cunt “You’re already wet and gaping for me,” they laughed.

They lubed up and started warming me up with fingers. It felt so good, the way they slipped inside my ass. It felt like such a long time since they’d fucked my ass, and I was so excited. ”You’re so tight,” they said. I got warmed up quickly, though, because soon they were pushing the long, smooth dildo inside me. I moaned and pushed back, wanting to take it all but also trying not to rush.

They experimented a bit, pushing the dildo as far in as it would go and tapping the base, sliding it in and out, and then they pushed downwards with it, and I basically lost it. It felt amazing, and my brain turned off and all I could do was feel and moan and push myself back on the toy as they pushed it inside me.

The Hitachi was close at hand, and they grabbed it and pressed it to my clit, switching it on. I pushed back harder, getting completely overwhelmed very quickly. I think it was just a few seconds before I was asking permission to come. Garnet gave their permission, and I started coming as soon as they said I could, moaning and squeezing the toy inside me.

And then they shifted the Hitachi, and I completely lost control, and at first I thought I was squirting, but then the scent hit me and I realized that I was, in fact, pissing. ”Oh God, did I pee?” I asked, and Garnet laughed and told me I had, and that I was such a dirty little slut for coming so hard I lost control of my bladder. I could feel my face get warm.

They pulled the dildo slowly out of my ass, and happily observed how open I was, both my ass and my cunt gaping wide. They told me to hold myself open like a good slut, positioning my hands so they could take pictures of my open holes, laughing delightedly the whole time. I felt deliciously humiliated. When they were done taking pictures, they asked how I was going to clean up my piss, which had soaked through the blanket and onto the floor. ”However you think I should, Sir,” I replied, knowing what they would want me to do.

“Are you sure? Be careful…” they warned. I nodded, and they pulled back the blanket and looked pointedly at the small puddle on the floor. I bent and began to lick it up. ”How does it taste?” Garnet asked “Your piss and cum?” I sat up for a second and giggled, saying it was weirdly kind of sweet. Then I finished licking up the rest. Garnet continued to tease me, asking what I was going to tell their roommate about pissing on his blanket, if I was going to tell him that I was such a slut that I lost control of my bladder with a dick in my ass. Then they had me go toss the blanket in the wash.

For the record, they later said I didn’t have to tell their roommate if I didn’t want to, and then we kind of both ended up telling him together, and his response was “Oh, that’s cool,” before he went right back to whatever he’d been talking about before.

So many delightful, delicious things have happened lately…and then also my work schedule pretty much went to hell. I should have updated way sooner, though.

-Garnet and their boy and I all went to a party. I went to classes beforehand, and learned many exciting and important things about boots. Later, Garnet actually let me shine their boots for them. This is, like, hugely important to me, and thus far I’ve only been allowed to practice on my own boots and being trusted to take care of theirs was really amazing and significant and also hot. And I feel really accomplished that they think my leather care skills have improved that much.

-I watched them have an impact scene with their boy, and I enjoyed it a weird amount. Still kind of figuring that out. We’ll see what happens.

-Later, we had an amazing, delicious stomping/kicking scene. Like…just everything about it was so amazing. Being pushed into the floor under their boots, crawling and kissing and licking said boots (which I’d polished earlier!)…it was just so good. So good. I am describing it poorly because I lack the words to articulate how near-perfect it was. Seriously.

-So many important relationship things have happened, both D/s relationship and regular relationship. I have never felt so loved and secure in literally my entire life.

-During some stressful goings-on, Garnet went and grabbed my hairbrush out of my bag. It turned out that they’d really just intended to brush my hair to relax, but instead they pulled up my nightgown and started spanking me with the back of the brush. It’s a boar-bristle brush, with a wooden handle and back, and it’s quite stingy. They alternated between smacking me with the back of the brush and scratching me with the bristles, until my ass was deliciously sore and covered in bright red dots. At some point, as they hurt me, their fingers slid into my cunt. Eventually they put the brush aside and started concentrating on really fucking me hard. They put me in all sorts of positions, and pulled out the Hitachi and made me squirt and come and come and squirt until I was basically too exhausted to move. I felt so delightfully, thoroughly played with and used.

-Later, I got to use my mouth and fingers and an absurdly large dildo on them. We were both surprised by how much of the dildo they were able to take before I went back to using my fingers. I’m a little disappointed in myself that my hand/arm got too tired to keep fucking them until they came, but they solved that issue in a completely lovely way by getting themself right to the edge of an orgasm and then having me slip my fingers back inside while they came and came. I know I say this in, like, every post, but I’m such a lucky girl.

-I’ve been doing way more research on my service skills, from spending pretty much a whole day reading bootblacking resources to reading really interesting non-fiction books about servants in Victorian households. I’m really enjoying it, and I hope I’m able to keep it up with my ridiculous work situation.

Garnet and I recently had sex during one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Like, truly, hideously bad.

They gave me permission to dig through their toy box and masturbate if I wanted. So I pulled out our neon green Vixskin Maverick (or Patient Zero, as we’ve named it) and started touching myself. I don’t even think I’d started using the dildo on myself when Garnet snagged it, lubed it up, and started pushing it inside me. They teased me and occasionally smacked my cunt as they pushed the huge cock in and out of me.

I came pretty quickly, once they pulled out the Hitachi, and they teased me about being able to do so while the movie was still on in the background. What was really awesome, though, was the way they made me squirt–they hit just the right spot with the Hitachi externally while pushing hard against my g-spot. The feeling of pressure very quickly built up, and they pulled out of my cunt and I pushed down and my whole body arched as I bore down and just absolutely gushed. Like, liquid poured out of me. After words we realized it had splashed off the bed and gotten their bag on the floor a little wet.

I used to mostly just, like, trickle a bit occasionally, so these porn-star-level squirting moments are new and exciting and kind of delightful for both of us.

After making me squirt a bunch, they stuffed the dildo back into me and began to fuck me really, really hard with it. I could feel it filling me up until there wasn’t anywhere else for it to go, and if I rested my hand on my abdomen I could feel a bulge there as it pushed on me from the inside.

Ordinarily, this is one of the hottest things to me. It’s really exciting to think about being fucked so hard with something so huge. But for whatever reason, that day my body just wasn’t cooperating and I had to ask several times to take breaks, and finally I had to give up on such hard, deep penetration. For a little bit, they kept fucking me slowly and not as deep, which felt delicious and basically made me purr, and then we wound down and ended up cuddling.

I confessed later that I felt kind of like I was letting them down for not being able to take as much hard fucking as I sometimes can. They petted me and reassured me that I’d done well, and they were pleased with how hard I’d taken it.

Garnet, our friend Avery, and I have been trying to all have sex together literally for years now.

We’ve all three been at parties and kept missing each other or didn’t have time. And one time we almost did, but I was in the middle of being terribly depressed and anxious, so I started weeping inconsolably in the middle of attempted sex and brought everything to a grinding halt.

But finally, this past weekend, after going out to a party on Saturday (at which I got deliciously beat up, and also was allowed to eat a cupcake), going to a museum with Garnet and the new boy on Sunday, on Monday Avery came to visit! They got there right around the time Garnet got home from work, and the three of us hung out and petted Garnet’s snake (this is not a euphemism–Garnet has acquired a pet snake, and he’s adorable), and then we started talking about/showing off toys, and we talked about limits and boundaries, and then in order to show off one particular impact toy, Avery and I both bent over and got hit on our butts and thighs. Soon after that, Garnet ordered me to take off my dress.

I lay on my back, in just my underwear, and Garnet teased me and bit and pinched me. Avery started stroking between my legs, and when they pulled their hand away Garnet gave me a sharp tap there. ”You beat me to it,” Avery pouted. They both petted and stroked and scratched and pinched me all over my thighs and belly and breasts. Avery gave me super soft kisses, and Garnet bit the spot where my neck meets my shoulder. At one point, they both bit me, and I very nearly swooned. Being bitten by more than one person at a time gives me a lot of vampire/victim feels. Garnet put clover clamps on my nipples, something I’d only only really done by myself before, and…they were very intense. I made a lot of noises while they pulled the chain, and eventually had to ask to have them taken off. I actually screamed when Garnet took off the first clamp, and they scolded me about how the neighbors might call the police. They gagged me right around then. I was really delighted that their new ball gag actually fits in my mouth!

Soon after, they took away my undies and removed and disposed of my tampon. They asked if I wanted to be fucked (because I’m such a filthy slut) and I nodded an emphatic yes behind the gag. Garnet lubed up their fingers and thrust them into my cunt hard and fast. I was really turned on, from all the play and pain, and from the idea of being fucked in front of Avery, and I took lots of fingers very quickly. It felt really, really good to be so filled up by them, and they kept asking if I wanted more and I nodded, and they had I think four fingers up to the knuckles in my cunt, sliding on my blood and the lube, and Avery watching the whole thing, and they asked if I wanted more, if I wanted to take their whole fist. I nodded, and they asked Avery to undo the gag. They added more lube, and pushed further inside me. We got so close, but it started to hurt and I just couldn’t take their whole hand. They asked if Avery wanted to try. So Avery slid several fingers into me, and Garnet picked up the Hitachi and held it against my clit. It was different and interesting and delightful to be finger-fucked by a new person. Especially by Avery, who is really attractive. They pushed inside me, stroking my g-spot, and soon I was close to coming. ”Are you getting close?” Garnet teased, and I nodded. ”Be sure to ask permission. And you have to ask both of us.”

“Please, may I come?” I gasped.

“I said you have to ask both of us,” Garnet chided.

“Please, Sir, please, Avery, may I come?” They debated between themselves for a moment before they let me. It took a little bit, but soon I was squeezing Avery’s fingers inside me and moaning and shaking. Then Garnet changed the positioning on the Hitachi, and Avery kept pressing my g-spot, and I started getting closer and closer to squirting. I nodded, and Garnet instructed Avery to pull out their fingers, and I squirted a lot. Fluid was gushing out of me, and I could hear splashing sounds and then delighted noises from Garnet and Avery. Then Garnet scolded me for making a mess, which I really had. I completely soaked the bed, and Avery’s thigh. Garnet pulled me up to press my face to Avery’s leg and ordered me to lick up the large quantity of cum that I’d gotten all over them, and I happily obeyed. As I licked. Garnet lubed up their fingers and pushed into my ass. I wriggled on their fingers while I licked and panted against Avery’s thigh. ”Two fingers right away,” Garnet observed. ”You are a slut.”

“Yes, Sir,” I agreed. They went to clean up their hands, instructing Avery and me to play nice. Mostly, Avery petted me while I recovered.

When Garnet returned, they and Avery discussed what to do next. Avery wanted to be fucked with a strap-on, and Garnet offered me and my brand new harness up. Avery chose a cock, and I got cleaned up a little and then popped it into my fabulous harness. I lay on my back, and Avery mounted me, sliding down on the cock. Their bits were shaved, and really pretty, and I had trouble doing anything other than watching and being thrilled while they rode me. I did manage to match their thrusts, and they made delightful, happy noises, and then Garnet exclaimed how much fun it was to watch me fuck someone else with their cock, and they pressed a vibrator into my hand. I grinned and held the vibe against Avery’s bits, enjoying their reactions, pushing up into them. They cried out that they were getting close to coming, and I increased the vibration, and they came, moaning, while riding me. It was impossibly hot.

When they rolled off, Garnet knelt between my legs and sucked the cock into their mouth. They sucked and licked and gagged, pausing at one point to grin at me and say “It’s so hot tasting someone else on my cock while you’re wearing it.”

Then we paused, because Garnet’s roommate had made us quesadillas for a snack.

After eating our quesadillas, we all lounged on Garnet’s bed trying to avoid the wet spot. ”Do we want to go to the bar?” Garnet asked. ”Or do we want to get Garnet off?”

Avery and I both voted for the second option, or possibly both. Garnet got comfortable on the bed and instructed me to show Avery what to do. I crouched between their legs and licked at their bits, then slid my fingers inside. Then Avery and I switched places, and I gave them tips about how much pressure to use. We came up with some exciting combinations, with my stroking Garnet’s clit and Avery fingering them. Garnet picked up the Hitachi, and suggested that I show Avery how to finger them from inside. Avery slid their fingers inside Garnet’s bits, and I slipped two fingers in underneath, trying to guide them to the right places. It was really, really delicious, the two of us working together to please Garnet, and they told us how good it felt while they held the Hitachi against their clit. ”Switch with me?” Avery whispered, and we switched our hands so that my fingers were on top, nestled against Garnet’s spot, and theirs were underneath. Garnet immediately moaned. ”See?” said Avery softly, “They know your fingers.” And with me pressing on their g-spot and Avery thrusting deeper into them, and the two of us exchanging delighted grins and commenting on how hot Garnet is and how wet they were, Garnet came, calling out both our names.

Then we went to the bar.

Seriously, I think this had to be the hottest, most satisfying threesome I’ve ever participated in. I mean, not that it’s remotely okay to rank things like that. But it was ridiculously hot, sharing and being shared and working together to enjoy each other.

Everything has been super busy, and work and life have been really stressful, and I have a backlog of posts I need to write. So here is part of an effort to get caught up.

Garnet has a new boy. I have to come up with another fake name, which is frustrating, but otherwise he and I seem to get along really well. It’s a really nice change from all the conflict we’ve dealt with during past attempts at this sort of thing. And it’s really interesting to me what’s different and what’s not. Like, do I still sometimes feel jealous and insecure and freaked out about my own perceived inadequacy? Yes. Do I feel annoyed and irritable and spend lots of time wishing he’d just go away? I do not! Which is both pleasant and interesting. Also, the new boy is also submissive, which is something I have zero experience dealing with…and while that definitely is a contributing factor to my worries and jealous feels, I’m also kind of excited to see what all happens with this.

After meeting him, I got to go home with Garnet and sleep with them, all snuggled up against them. In he morning, we were hanging out in bed and snuggling and…I guess I’m still shy about initiating sex sometimes? But I was groping at them and nuzzling and finally they said something about me teasing them, and I apologized and backed off…and they responded by telling me they meant that I should stop teasing and start doing stuff. So I nuzzled my way between their legs and started licking and sucking at their bits. I feel like I spent both a long time playing with their body, and like it was over surprisingly quickly. I was feeling really orally fixated (which is kind of a constant thing with me, but more so than usual), and I had so much fuck sucking on their clit and their labia. They tasted delicious, and their clit got harder than I’ve seen it before. I stroked them with my fingers, too, both inside and out…and they let me suck at and play with their nipples a lot, which I don’t get to do that often. They were so tasty and fun to play with. And, when they were using the Hitachi on themselves, I got to slip my fingers inside them and press against their spot and watch/listen to them react. They got kind of frustrated with how long it took for them to get off, but I really liked feeling my way inside them. Everything about it was really enjoyable.

I’m also really excited about how stuff is developing D/s-wise. I’m finally getting back on track with my assignments, post-holidays, and Garnet has homework and stuff planned. I think also having the new boy around makes me realize how far I’ve come since Garnet and I started all this. Things I thought I’d never get right come easily and naturally now. I still have a really long way to go…but I’m pretty sure I can do it. I’m so eager to learn more, and get better at serving them, and take on new things. I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but I am so incredibly fortunate to be their girl.

I have mentioned before, I think, how much I really really like The Boss by Abigail Barnette. If you know me in meatspace, I have probably told you extensively in person how much I like this book, and ennumerated the reasons why I think it’s so good. I’ve wanted to blog about it for a while (and its sequel, The Girlfriend), but I’ve been putting it off for ages.

I’ve been trying really hard to figure out how I can do this without comparing The Boss endlessly to Fifty Shades of Grey. Partly because I’m just really tired of talking about Fifty Shades, and partly because I just feel like The Boss deserves better. But it’s hard. Especially since I’m reasonably sure that part of the reason The Boss exists is to highlight how terrible Fifty Shades is. But I’m going to try…

So The Boss. Twenty-something New Yorker Sophie Scaife arrives at her job at a top fashion magazine to discover that the magazine has been bought out and her awful, demanding boss has been replaced…by the older man Sophie had an amazing one-night-stand with years before, who it turns out is Neil Elwood, a well-known media mogul. They talk through the awkward, and agree to have a no-strings-attached sex arrangement. He moves her to a different department within the magazine, because it would be wildly inappropriate for him to be having any sort of sexual relationship with his assistant.

Through talking about what they both like in bed, Neil admits he’s into BDSM and Sophie admits she wants to explore D/s with him in the bedroom. They play sexy games, where he does things like making her edge while masturbating and send her home with no panties. Every time they play, he reminds her what their safewords are before they start, or before things get more intense. He frequently checks in to make sure she’s okay. Also, he lends her his iPad which has a bunch of useful instructional kink guides loaded on it for her to read.

Basically, they both agree to pursue a sexy, consensual D/s relationship because it’s something they’re both interested in and find hot.

I’m so into the realism here. There are definitely elements that make things more glamorous than most people’s real lives, like Neil’s huge, gorgeous apartment on Central Park, but the characters are still believable as actual people. Sophie and her roommate, Holly, have believable quirks and inside jokes. They wear goofy pyjamas, smoke weed, and eat cheap Chinese food. Neil is likable, for all that he’s a multi-billionaire and kind of a control freak sometimes. Also, he’s middle aged. He sings off-key in the shower. And he and Sophie argue about his control freakery. She’s submissive to him during sexy times, but there’s no full-time power exchange and they hang out and act like friends most of the rest of the time. And while Neil’s money is there, sometimes hanging over him and Sophie like a huge, awkward cloud of different-ness, it’s completely reasonable that a middle-aged dude who owns a publishing empire would have an absurd amount of money, and the book shows him doing actual work.

There are obstacles, like Neil’s adult daughter, and finally Sophie has to make some very serious choices about her work/relationship boundaries (major downside of trying to ethically fuck your boss). And of course, feelings develop, the way feelings sometimes do in NSA arrangements. But again, the conflicts and problems are real things people might actually face in a relationship. It’s refreshing.

Also, I love that this book finally breaks this thing where in straight-up erotica everyone is bisexual and in erotic romance no one is. Queer people exist! Queer people of color, even! I will be writing way more about this if/when I get around to writing a post about the sequel, The Girlfriend, because way more awesome queer stuff happens there, but still! There are multiple people who are not straight in this book, and while one of them is a snarky gay man who works for a fashion magazine, he’s also written as a real person and not a cardboard cut-out.

I feel like the world of kinky literary porn really needed this book. For so long, we’ve had these grand fantastic novels with secret societies and 24/7 slaves, going all the way back to The Story of O. Don’t get me wrong, I love that shit. I’m utterly obsessed with Laura Antoniou’s Marketplace series. But there is so definitely a place for a novel where two people engage in hot, well-negotiated, consensual BDSM, and maybe fall in love, and nobody actually gets sold at auction or freaks out about how “damaged” they are. Things are so grounded in the real world that there are even specificsex toys described within the book.

I really, really, really like The Boss. I like it so much that I bought its sequel immediately upon finishing it. If you would also like to read The Boss, it’s available for free in a few places, which you can find by looking at this site here.